The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2026 NBA Draft with the #9 pick, the #30 pick and a fair amount of trade rumors swirling around them. After selecting Morez Johnson, Jr. at #9, things went dreadfully quiet on the trade front. As subsequent picks were made and the minutes ticked by, it seemed apparent that Dallas would be making a selection at #30 instead of packaging that pick with a veteran in an effort to move up the draft board. Any hope at picking up a young guard to help in the rebuild looked bleak.
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Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb could have a historic season for the Cowboys
We are two weeks and change away from the 2024 season beginning for the Dallas Cowboys, and when it does everything we have been through to this point relative to contract extensions and all of that jazz will be in the rearview mirror. Hopefully.
It remains to be seen if a deal will get done with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and if it does not then it stands to reason that he won’t be a part of the season opener against the Cleveland Browns. Obviously Lamb has established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and through the first four years of his career he is the most accomplished wideout in franchise history in just about every statistic. Dez Bryant was a touchdown machine the likes of which we may never see again, and even Lamb couldn’t catch him through their first 66 games with a star on their helmet. Bryant had 44 to Lamb’s 32.
But on the subject of touchdowns Lamb has indeed caught a lot of them and the majority have been thrown by quarterback Dak Prescott. Earlier this offseason we discussed how Dak is approaching various franchise records from a passing perspective, but the duo together is also on the verge of some history relative to the team’s record books.
Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb could end the season around third in Dallas Cowboys franchise history as far as touchdowns between a passer and receiver
As Dallas Cowboys fans we have been fortunate to see a large number of dynamic duos that got their work done through the air for the team. While Prescott has played eight NFL seasons to date, only half of them have come with Lamb by his side. In spite of this, Lamb became the player with the most touchdowns caught by Prescott over the course over last season. He is now five clear of Amari Cooper in that regard.
In total Prescott and Lamb have connected for 27 touchdowns to this point which puts them in a tie for the seventh-most in franchise history with quite a number of duos. Just one more gives them spot number seven all by themselves, but a solid season could see them finish around third in team history after 2024 (practically speaking).
Assuming Prescott and Lamb are around long enough to try, it will take some time before they can catch the mark of 50 set by Tony Romo and the aforementioned Dez Bryant. But if Prescott and Lamb were to hook up around 10 times this year, they could finish either tied for third with Romo and Jason Witten, or take that spot all to themselves (obviously this would require at least 11). That seems to be the ceiling spot for this season at least.
For what it is worth, Lamb has only caught double-digit touchdowns once in his career, but it was last season which is obviously likely something being used in contract discussions. Throughout the 2023 season Lamb hauled in 12 receiving touchdowns so this is definitely doable.
Prescott and Lamb have been one of the more lethal combinations in the entire NFL since joining forces, and while that technically happened in 2020, there were only two touchdowns between them before Dak was lost for the season to his ankle injury. Since 2021 they are among the top five connections across the league.
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With the #30 pick, Dallas selected Koa Peat, Adam Silver said goodnight and that was that. Except it wasn’t. As the first round of the Draft was concluding, rumors started buzzing that the Mavericks were in fact making a move. Details are still being confirmed, but as it stands, Dallas will be trading the #30 pick Koa Peat and two future second-round draft picks to the New York Knicks in exchange for Sergio DeLarrea’s services. The exact second-rounders were still being determined late Tuesday night.
Here are the details we have at this time:
Los Angeles Lakers Received: 24th Overall Pick (Cameron Carr, Baylor)
Dallas Mavericks Received: 25th Overall (Sergio de Larrea, Spain)
Phoenix Suns Received: 30th Overall (Koa Peat, Arizona)
New York Knicks Received: Cash (Lakers), two second-round picks (Mavericks), and three more second-round picks (Suns)
DeLarrea was on the radar of a number of Mavs Moneyball staffers, perhaps none more than Tyler Edsel who wrote an excellent crash course on him and what he can bring to the Mavs. To be clear, it is unlikely he is going to have a massive day-one impact on the team, but the Mavericks really needed to do something to acquire more young talent that fit a position of need. While he may not be as flashy a name as Brayden Burries (whom the Mavs skipped over in favor of Morez) or Labaron Philon, Jr. (who somewhat surprisingly slipped to #22), Dallas really needed to do bolster the guard position and they came through.
If DeLarrea’s shooting transfers to the NBA level, it would be a big boon for a team that struggled from downtown much of last season. While not an immediate impact player, Dallas did well to move up a bit in a low-cost move that keeps all of their other assets intact for what will surely be a summer of retooling via trades and free agency.
Stay tuned for updates, as it is unclear which second-round picks the Mavericks will let go of in this deal.
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What Drake London’s new deal could mean for George Pickens
Falcons WR Drake London is now the NFL’s third-highest paid wide receiver in AAV, signing a four-year, $141 million extension with $100 million guaranteed and $35.26 million per year.
London, who is 25, is the same age as Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, and both are heading into their fifth seasons in the NFL. Pickens too was seeking a long-term contract, but the Cowboys told him and his representation that would not happen this offseason, and he instead signed his $27.3 million franchise tag that keep shim under contract for the 2026 season.
Pickens’ one-year deal on the tag makes him the 17th highest-paid wide receiver in the league in AAV. Should Pickens go out and post a year similar to his 2025 campaign where he had more than 1,400 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, a deal similar to London’s may be in the ballpark of what Pickens could seek. For reference, CeeDee Lamb is the league’s fifth-highest paid WR at $34 million annually. If Pickens surpasses him and is closer to London’s $35 million per year mark, he and Lamb would become the highest-paid WR duo in NFL history, surpassing the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who currently combine for $69 million per year. – Tommy Yarrish
The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Garland Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abby Policastro and Marissa Aulbaugh prosecuted the case.
“This verdict should send a clear message to drug dealers that we will dismantle any effort to peddle deadly fentanyl in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their dedicated collaboration in taking thousands of fentanyl pills off the streets of Dallas.”
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